mr. mandela had the same operation while he was in prison. and when i woke up on labor day 1998, here the president was next to my hospital bed. he took my hand, and he said to me, i have come to see how you are. but your doctors say you are okay. i'm so glad, he said. i went through the same ordeal. now, get better. we still need each other. >> reporter: for all the human side of mandela, it's his superhuman qualities that dazzle even botha. especially recalling what mandela did with all that time in jail. >> he has the capacity to spend 27 years in prison, come out of that prison, and lead a country governed by whites since the first settlers landed here in 1652. in such a way that he was adored by all of the people in this country, ir respectable of the color of their skin. he has that capacity in him, and he never boasted. he remained a humble, very, very humble human being. >> reporter: impressive to botha was mandela's willingness to forgive and work with adversaries. mandela made botha a minister in south africa's first multiracial gov